


One Decade Down

by Jellybean96



Series: Hollywood!AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Grant's a bartender, Hollywood!AU, Romance, Skye's an actress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-19 02:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10630671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: If anyone had asked her ten years ago what she'd be doing, she probably would have said working tirelessly to make feature film after feature film. Making PB&J sandwiches for lunches and buying just the right kind of markers that wouldn't be too messy would not have been her first answer. Or her second, third, fourth, or fifth answer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a little three-parter for ya. This first chapter turned out to be a whole lot longer than I originally anticipated. But I guess that's what happens when you get inspired. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

If anyone had asked her ten years ago what she'd be doing, she probably would have said working tirelessly to make feature film after feature film. Making PB&J sandwiches for lunches and buying just the right kind of markers that wouldn't be too messy would not have been her first answer. Or her second, third, fourth, or fifth answer.

But the life she lives now is a good life, she knows that. She absolutely loves her life. She wouldn't trade a single second of it for anything in the world. If she had to choose between her life how it is now and how it used to be just over ten years ago, she'd definitely choose the now. Not that her life before all of this was bad, she's just so much happier now and feels so much more fulfilled.

A lot has happened for her in the last decade. And pretty much all of it had to do with a certain handsome bartender she met once upon a time in a faraway place.

* * *

About a month after they said 'I love you' they decided to move in together. Sort of. Skye kept her small apartment in LA for when she's working long hours but officially, to them, she lives at Grant's place above the bar. It's nice and cozy and she keeps most of her stuff there.

When she isn't working on a project, she stays at the apartment above the bar full time. When she is working, she stays at both places. The apartment above the bar is usually saved for weekends, and the occasional day within the week. The apartment in LA is so she can stay there without worrying about driving too late considering Grant's bar is a few hours out from LA. It's a pretty good system.

* * *

They celebrate their anniversary in October. Grant is completely sweet and thoughtful and recreates their first date, with a few modifications. Rose petals litter the floor and a few candles are set up around the room. He makes the same meal he made her that night and she just falls so much more in love with him in that moment.

He had convinced her best friend Jemma to take her out for the day so he could set everything up. She knew he was planning something, just not anything like what he did.

She makes sure to show him just how appreciative of him she is that night.

.

.

.

They spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with her parents, mainly so that they can get to know Grant a little bit better. They haven't spent much time with him considering he and Skye kept their entire relationship on the down low for quite a while.

Skye's happy to say that the holidays go off without a hitch, everything goes great, her parents really seem to like Grant.

* * *

When Grant proposed to her a few months after that, it was nothing short of spectacular and super sweet. It was also completely unexpected too. Well, slightly unexpected. She had a feeling it was coming soon, they'd been together for a year and a half already, she just wasn't expecting it to happen when and where it happened.

It was just another work day for her. Her latest movie is a rom-com, thankfully they're filming in the area so she doesn't have to do too much traveling for it. The guy who's acting opposite her is really nice; Antoine Triplett, a newer actor. He's still pretty green to the whole acting world, this movie is his first big role, so Skye took it upon herself to show him the ropes and let him in on all the secrets she's learned over the course of her career. Trip, as he had told her to call him, quickly became one of her closest friends in the industry.

They're filming the scene where his character surprises hers when the proposal actually happens. When they had done the read-through the director didn't tell her what her character would be surprised with. He said he wanted her reaction to be genuine, so it's more authentic for the scene and the fans when they watch it. She has no problem with that whatsoever, she likes when the things she films are more authentic.

They were in the middle of the scene, about to get to the big moment where her character, Lucy, gets surprised. They go back and forth with their scripted dialogue and then it comes time for the big surprise within the movie.

Trip, as his character Marcus, smiles at her. "Turn around and find out."

She lets out a small huff before turning around, bracing herself for whatever the surprise for the scene is supposed to be.

That's when she sees him, in all his handsome, Adonis-like glory, standing just a few feet in front of her. He's dressed up nice, in a pair of slacks and a nice t-shirt.

"Grant, what are you doing here? I'm trying to work." She has to keep herself from physically shoving him off the set. She loves him, she really does, but she doesn't understand why he's there. The possibility of a proposal doesn't even dawn on her in that moment. Until he starts walking towards her and talking, of course, and she starts to slowly piece things together.

"Skye, I love you so much. The day you walked into my bar was the best day of my life, that's when everything changed. My life became so much better when you became a part of it. I couldn't ask for someone more amazing or more wonderful to want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?"

He ends up down on one knee with a ring box out in front of him; the top flipped up to reveal the most beautiful ring she's ever seen. It's nothing too extravagant or flashy, but still very elegant, her perfect ring.

She doesn't even hesitate in saying yes.

He slides the ring onto her finger and then she's launching herself at him, their lips sealing together.

The kiss, unfortunately for her, doesn't get too heated, as Skye remembers that there's still dozens of people on the set.

Everyone crowds around and starts congratulating them as soon as they break apart from their kiss. Turns out, they were all in on it; they all knew Grant was going to ask her. He had gone to the crew and asked them if he could propose on set and they were all more than happy to agree. The costuming department even helped him pick out the perfect outfit to wear for the proposal.

Skye just wishes they weren't on set in front of all her friends and coworkers. Because if they weren't, she'd definitely be doing a lot more than just kissing him, that's for sure.

Thankfully, her wish comes true. The movie is ahead of its shooting schedule so the director sends everybody home for the day, telling Grant and Skye that he's happy for them and to go home and celebrate.  
So that's what they do. All night.

* * *

Neither of them wants to wait too long to get married. But of course they have to wait until Skye is finished with her latest project before they can actually get married. But once she's wrapped on all her scenes, wedding planning is her sole focus. That's not to say that she doesn't take some time out of her busy shooting schedule to make decisions here and there.

.

.

.

They decide to have the ceremony in Aruba, in the early days of August. They both like the idea of a beach wedding, and it's pretty far out of the way of any paparazzi or fans. Not that Skye doesn't love her fans, because she does, but this is her wedding, not another press event or movie premiere. So they keep things pretty much on the down low, in regards to both the engagement and the wedding. Sure she would love to have the support and she knows her fans would be happy for her, but she also likes the idea of keeping it just to themselves for a little while longer. Grant is more than happy to agree to that. He very much likes the idea too.

As it turns out, Natasha is a whole lot more than just an agent to the stars. All her time spent as an agent seems to have given her some kind of an edge that makes planning a wedding a piece of cake for her. Skye has honestly never been more thankful for her agent and friend. It definitely takes a whole load of stress off of her. She and Grant still have a say in how things go, of course, but Natasha is definitely taking charge and making sure things will run smoothly the day of.

They ask Grant's niece Kate to be the flower girl for the wedding. The first time Skye met the little girl, not long after she and Grant started dating, it was a whole mix of different things; first Kate was nervous, then asked all sorts of questions, then became very chatty, and then very clingy. Grant really wasn't kidding when he said that she's Kate's favorite actor. When they ask her, the six year old is overly enthusiastic about getting to be in the wedding. The fact that it's on a beach is an added bonus.  
For the ring bearer, they invite her driver Mack's youngest son to do it. Mack has been her driver since she first started her career; he, his wife Elena, and their kids are all like family to her. Joel is pretty excited to be in the wedding, Skye's one of his favorite people.

Skye's half of the bridal party consists of her best friend since elementary school Jemma as the Maid of Honor, one of her close friends and fellow actresses named Bobbi, Grant's older sister Amanda, and Elena as bridesmaids. Grant's half consists of his best friend since middle school Kebo as the Best Man, the only person Grant somehow knew in the industry before he met Skye named Leo Fitz, and Trip.

.

.

.

Neither the ceremony nor the reception are very large affairs. It's just their closest friends and family they flew out there to join them on the beach.

The ceremony itself was completely beautiful, not a single dry eye was found once the vows were over.

Grant spoke first, nothing but love for his soon-to-be wife in his eyes.

"Skye, you are the absolute love of my life and I'm so glad that I get to spend the rest of my life as your husband. The day you walked into my bar, just looking for a place to escape from your busy like for a little while, it was the day that everything changed. For the better, obviously. Every day that I'm with you, there's a part of me that can't believe that I'm with you; you're a world famous movie star and I'm just a small town bartender. But somehow, somehow we work, and I think that's wonderful. I love you so much, Skye, more than I ever thought I could love someone. I can't wait to start living this new chapter of my life with you right by my side."

Skye wipes the tears from her eyes and then talks.

"There are so many different instances over the course of my career where I've experienced falling in love as a character, but I've never gotten to experience it as myself, in real life and unscripted. And it's better than anything I could have imagined. Every moment I spend with you, Grant, I fall more and more in love. You make my life so much more amazing than it was before, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've received so many awards since I started acting, but I wouldn't care if I never won another award so long as I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that's super cheesy to say, but it's the absolute truth. I love you, Grant Ward, so much."

They're pronounced man and wife and the entire group bursts into cheers and applause when they kiss.

.

.

.

After the ceremony they all gathered together in a nice little beach restaurant that they managed to acquire for the whole afternoon for the reception. The catering was amazing; Natasha hired some of the best.

Skye spends a bit of time at the beginning of the reception getting to know Kebo and Fitz a little bit better.

She's interacted with Kebo a few times over the time she's been with Grant, and he always brought a great source of entertainment for her.

Fitz, on the other hand, she doesn't know too well. She's only met him a couple of times during wedding planning. He apparently does a lot of tech/prop work for different films and Skye can't help but wonder if they've ever worked on a film together without knowing it.

Turns out they had, in the very beginning of both of their careers. It was before Skye became a household name, and when Fitz was just an assistant the lead tech/prop guy. They both remember working on the film very clearly and that's all they really needed to start bonding.

The speeches given during the latter part of the reception were great.

Kebo gave his Best Man speech first. He and Grant have known each other since middle school and Kebo was the first one Grant told about Skye when they first started seeing each other. Kebo became his business partner when Grant decided to open a bar, and has even run the bar a few times when Grant was unable to do so. So it's really no surprise that he asked Kebo to be his best man. He threw in many jokes about Grant, having no qualms whatsoever about teasing Grant relentlessly. Skye doesn't think she'd ever laughed harder at hearing some of the jokes told.

Jemma spoke second with her Maid of Honor speech. The two women have been best friends since elementary school after Jemma's family decided to move to the states from England. While Skye went the route of becoming an actress, Jemma had her sights set on medical school to become a doctor. She was very ecstatic when Skye asked her to be her Maid of Honor. Her speech was chalk full of touching remarks about their friendship and how she doesn't think she could be any happier for her best friend. She also throws in a few funny stories just for the heck of it.

Despite the jokes, both speeches were very touching and Jemma's speech had Skye in tears by the end of it.

When her dad got up for his speech, Skye turned into an absolute blubbering mess. She's always been daddy's little girl, having him completely wrapped around her finger from the time she was born, so the both of them were crying hard by the end of his speech. She couldn't resist hugging him afterwards.

They all did some dancing after that and then Grant and Skye left for their honeymoon.

.

.

.

They decided on going to another island in the Caribbean because Skye had only been to it once for a film but never really got to enjoy it, and Grant had never been there.

They spend two weeks there, most of it spent in their bed without any clothes on.

Again, Skye doesn't see much of the island this time around, but she definitely has a lot more fun.

* * *

Just a few days after they get back, Grant surprises her with a house that he'd found before the wedding and had Kebo finalize all the details for him while they were away. She honestly wasn't expecting it and just about cries when she sees it. It's completely perfect for them. And it sits almost exactly halfway between LA and Grant's bar. She won't have to drive nearly as long to get to LA, and same with Grant for his bar.

Skye sells her apartment and Grant rents out the place above his bar, and they move all of their belongings into their new home.

.

.

.

Her fans and the media don't find out about the marriage until about a week after they come back from their honeymoon and are just about all settled into their new home.

She got all of their photos e-mailed to her from the professional photographer Natasha hired for the wedding and had a few of them printed out and framed to hang on the walls at their house.

She posted one of her favorite ones on her Instagram. It's a candid shot of her and Grant at the reception, standing close with their heads bent together as they dance their first dance as husband and wife; his arms are wrapped around her waist while hers are looped around his neck. They both have wide smiles on their faces. It's probably her favorite photo from the reception.

She posts the photo with a simple caption: _Always and Forever, my love.  
_

That definitely had all the fans reeling.

* * *

She had to have known that the next interview she did would bring up the cryptic photo she posted online. Because what else would they want to talk about besides every aspect of her personal life.

She's just glad it wasn't the first thing they mentioned. They spent some time talking about her career first. Then they brought up the photo. They projected the image on the large screen behind them and asked her about it.

"There has definitely been a lot of talk about this photo. Everyone is dying to know what this is really all about."

She can't help the smile that crosses her face when she thinks about that special day.

"I guess I should probably clear things up, then. About a month ago...I got married."

The entire studio audience bursts into cheers that just makes her smile more.

"We wanted to keep things kind of quiet, to just have this moment to ourselves for a while. It was a really intimate, beautiful ceremony out in Aruba, we invited all of our close friends and family, and it was just the absolute best day."

"Sounds like it. So you've been married for a month now?"

"Yeah, about a month. And it's been the best month. That picture I posted is probably one of my favorites that we got back from our photographer. More are going to be released later, not sure how yet, but they will be released at some point. We just wanted to keep everything to ourselves for a little while."

"That makes perfect sense. And I assume everything is going well for the two of you?"

"It is. Very well. It's only been a few weeks, I think we're still in that honeymoon phase, but I really don't think I could have imagined a better guy to come into my life."

.

.

.

The rest of the photos are released a few days later, in a beautiful magazine spread, complete with an interview with Skye.

They asked Grant to be in the interview too, but he politely declined, saying he wanted Skye to be the one to talk about everything.

That particular magazine completely flew off the shelves.

* * *

Their first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays as a married couple are definitely fun. For some reason, there's something about being married that makes holidays like that so much more meaningful. They host a big Thanksgiving dinner for their closest friends and family to attend. Skye's always wanted to do something like this and now she actually has a big enough place to do so.

Christmas and New Year's they spend together, just the two of them in their home. Skye insists on going all out for the decorations, convincing Grant that it's the best part of the holiday.

"Skye, do we really need to hang mistletoe in every doorway of the house?"

"Mistletoe allows me to kiss you whenever we're under it together."

"Us being married allows you to kiss me whenever you want, whether in a doorway or not."

"It's part of the Christmas spirit, babe. And you better learn to love it."

He does end up loving it, even if he won't admit it out loud. He had no idea she loved the holiday so much and could get so intense with the decorations. But he loves her so he's willing to put up with it.

Skye posts a photo to her Instagram of the two of them kissing at midnight on New Years, _First major holidays as a married couple were a success. Can't wait to see what this new year holds for me and my favorite bartender._

* * *

Valentine's Day is a fun occasion as well. Grant goes all out to celebrate, it's their first Valentine's Day as a married couple and he wants it to be extra special. He treats her to a nice dinner out at a fancy restaurant in LA. He reserves a back room for the two of them, knowing that Skye thrives on private moments like these considering how often she's in the spotlight.

The night is magical and everything Skye didn't know she wanted out of a Valentine's Day dinner.

* * *

When springtime hits, it's time for her to do lots of promoting for the movie she did with Trip the year before. There's a lot of traveling involved, going to different places across the globe to do many, many interviews for the film.

She doesn't like being away from Grant for so long, considering they're still in the first year of their marriage, but she loves promoting her movies. And having Trip there with her is a great way to ease that homesickness. He helps her keep busy to keep her mind off being away from home.

That's not to say that she doesn't have a little fun in texting Grant while she's away.

* * *

The day before their first wedding anniversary she finds out she's pregnant.

She was supposed to go in for a movie audition but was throwing up all morning and so she called Natasha to tell her she couldn't go. The production company offered to let her audition for it later when she's feeling up to it. Thankfully she's able to go in the next day for the audition because she was feeling much better than before. They called her a few days later to let her know she got the part. She was ecstatic, as was Grant.

Of course, that feeling quickly went away when she got sick to her stomach again and then lightheaded right afterwards. And Grant, being the dutifully protective and concerned husband that he is, urged her to go see a doctor to make sure it wasn't food poisoning or something dire.

She begrudgingly agreed, complaining that she doesn't need to go to a doctor because she's perfectly fine. But Grant insists that she go, so she goes just to get him to stop nagging her. She set up the appointment for a few days later, knowing that he has an important shipment that day that he can't miss. He's such a worrier and she really didn't want him to make things a bigger deal than they probably were.

Jemma agreed to go to the appointment with her because that happens to be one of her days off and the two haven't spent much time together recently.

She gets checked in fairly quickly and then just has to wait for the doctor to see her. There are only a few older people in the waiting room, so luckily no one bothers her.

Thankfully she doesn't have to wait very long before she's called back. She's never been a huge fan of waiting rooms. There's just something about them.

Eventually a nurse calls her back and she hardly even has to beg Jemma to go back with her. They do all the standard stuff and then they're waiting for the doctor. He comes in a few minutes later and it's all routine again, him asking her more questions about her health and how she's been feeling lately.

He tells her they need to take her blood and she cringes.

"Is that really necessary?"

Apparently it is necessary, so they can run tests and make sure everything is okay. She reluctantly agrees. She hates needles. Well, hate is a strong word, but she definitely dislikes them a whole hell of a lot.

Another technician comes in and quickly draws some blood. She has to have Jemma distract her so she doesn't freak out. Because she definitely will.

They have to wait again for the blood test results to come back. The doctor sends them home, because it's going to be a few hours, and says that he'll call her when the results come back.

.

.

.

It's the next day when he calls her. She's in the middle of having lunch while bingeing something on Netflix when her phone goes off. She picks up instantly when she sees the name on her screen, and goes into another room.

She listens carefully as he talks to her, telling her that they ran all sorts of blood tests and only one of them came back positive.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Ward, you're going to be a mom."

She literally felt like all the wind got knocked out of her at the news. It's not that she isn't happy, because she is very happy, she just wasn't expecting this.

She thanked the doctor and then immediately began planning how to tell her husband about the addition to their little family.

In the end, she just tells him straight up. She was starting to get a little frazzled trying to come up with something. There were so many good ideas and she wanted to use them all.

She waited until he got home from work to tell him. She would have made him a nice dinner but he banned her from cooking in the kitchen after a small fire was set once at her old place. It was totally his fault, though, if you were to ask her. He was being distracting by walking around shirtless after having got out of the shower.

As soon as he steps through the front door she greets him and tells him she has a surprise for him. That alone has him excited. He's always loved surprises. But considering it's the day before their anniversary, he's a little confused as to what the surprise could be.

They sit down on the couch and eat the pizza that Skye ordered while just talking about their days. That's when she sees the opportunity.

"My day wasn't too eventful," she tells him casually.

"Really? There had to have been something that happened."

She tries to fight the grin that threatens to break through. "Well, now that you mention it, something kind of exciting did happen today."

"What is it?"

"Well, I went to the doctor's office yesterday like you asked me to and they took a blood sample to run a few tests. The doctor called me today with the results."

"What did they say? Oh gosh. Are you dying? That's the bad kind of exciting, Skye."

She really can't help but to laugh quietly at his concern.

"No, babe, I'm not dying."

"Then what?"

"I'm pregnant."

It could be considered comical the way he reacts to her news. His eyes practically bug out of his head and his jaw drops to the floor. He just stares at her for a moment before he actually finds his voice again to speak.

"You're...pregnant?"

"I am. You're going to be a dad."

He doesn't say anything else, just pulls her into a tight hug and then kisses her with so much passion.

Needless to say, they spend the next few hours celebrating the next chapter in their lives.

.

.

.

The next day is their anniversary but they're both honestly way too excited about the news of becoming parents to celebrate being married for a whole year.

* * *

The first ones they tell about the baby are Skye's parents. They're both beyond thrilled about becoming grandparents and can't wait to meet the baby.

Then they call Grant's Gramsy and sister to tell them the good news. Gramsy says she's excited for them and Amanda practically destroys his hearing from how loud she screams.

Each of their respective best friends is next.

Kebo just grinned and clapped Grant on the back, pulling him into a 'man hug' to congratulate him, telling him that he'd better be the baby's godfather.

Jemma squealed and pulled Skye into a super tight hug saying over and over again through her tears how happy she is and that she can't wait to meet her little niece or nephew.

They decide to wait a while to share any kind of official announcement through Skye's social media. Just to make sure everything is okay.

.

.

.

Of course, she had to tell the production company that she's pregnant, just in case they wanted to recast her part. Thankfully they didn't.

Filming was starting pretty soon after they found out about the baby, and it was only supposed to be a couple months of shooting, they were aiming for a mid-November wrap, so they told her that with some very strategic blocking, they'd be able to hide whatever size bump she had when the time came.

.

.

.

As soon as they announce the pregnancy, once she's finished filming her movie, the Internet goes completely crazy. She had an old friend of hers who works in graphic design create a mock movie poster to announce the pregnancy with, featuring her and Grant right in the forefront with a clever title and the month she's due on it.

'SkyewardBaby' was trending on Twitter for an entire hour.

Skye tries again to convince Grant to get some form of social media, whether it be Twitter or Instagram, just for the fun of it and so he can share in some of the love from the fans, but he still won't budge.

* * *

When it's time for them to find out the gender of their baby, some of their family and friends give them their thoughts on what the baby is going to be. Probably the most vocal is one of Skye's old friends that she worked with on a movie a few years back. Lance Hunter is very adamant that they're going to have a girl, and tells them over and over that Hunter works for a girl's name as well.

Turns out they are having a daughter and they immediately tell Lance that they are not naming their daughter after him. He's just thrilled that he guessed right and remarks that he should have put money on it.

* * *

Jemma is beyond excited to be getting a niece and throws the most amazing baby shower not long after Skye hits the six month mark at the beginning of the year. It's such an incredible party that has Skye thinking that Jemma could have been a professional party planner in another life.

But it's seriously one of the best baby showers she's seen. She hasn't been to too many in person, but she's seen plenty of pictures online. All of her close female friends and family are there, as well as Gramsy, Amanda, Katie, and one of Grant's longtime friends Kara.

Everyone who goes to the party says that they're happy for her and Grant, and that this party is one of the best they've been to. That last bit makes Jemma especially happy.

They get a lot of good stuff for the baby at the shower, some stuff she didn't even think about needing to get.

With only three months left before she gets to meet her daughter she's both overwhelmed and excited.

* * *

Three months later their baby girl enters the world. It was a hectic day in and of itself; they weren't expecting her to pop out for another few days so they weren't exactly ready for her when she did decide to make herself known.

They were at an engagement party for Bobbi and Lance, Skye's two friends that she's known for years. All three of them worked on a movie together a few years back, Bobbi as Skye's co-star and Lance as a stuntman. Skye had been the one to introduce them, of course, and they hit it off instantly. By bickering constantly and then having angry sex in the nearest secluded place they could find. Skye honestly wasn't sure if they'd stop arguing long enough to have any type of relationship, but low and behold, they're getting married. Skye's ninety-nine percent sure it was a drunken decision, but she can't prove it.

Nobody was expecting for Skye to go into labor in the middle of the party. Everybody was just sitting around, having a good time laughing and joking when she felt something wet trickle down her leg. Her water breaking in the middle of the party was literally the furthest thing from her mind.

She apologized profusely for ruining the event but Bobbi just waved her off, saying that her going into labor is probably the most exciting thing that could have happened. Aside from discovering Fitz and Jemma in a heated make out session in one of the broom closets, of course. Apparently they had started talking after being in Skye and Grant's wedding party but didn't actually start seeing each other until a few months after. They decided to keep it to themselves until they really knew what it was. She really couldn't fault Jemma for that; she'd done the exact same thing with her relationship with Grant.

.

.

.

She's really glad that the labor doesn't last very long. She's heard stories about labors that last hours up into the double digits. Hers remained in the single digits, thank goodness.

At 11:35 pm on the 25th her precious baby girl is born.

At 12:05 am on the 26th Grant starts to become more familiar with social media.

.

.

.

She really should have known that all it would take for Grant to start using social media of any kind would be the birth of their daughter. He sets it up as a private Instagram account because, as much as he appreciates Skye's fans, he doesn't want just anyone being able to follow him on there.

The first thing he posts is a photo of their little girl not long after she's born. Technically Skye's in it too, because she's the one actually holding their baby, lying in the hospital bed, not long after giving birth. But she's not looking up at the camera, she had no idea Grant was even taking the photo.

It's actually a really sweet photo, when she thinks about it, paired with an equally sweet caption: _My two favorite girls in this entire world. Love them both with my whole heart. I don't know if life can get any better than it is right now._

_._

_._

_._

It doesn't take very long for them to have visitors at the hospital. All their friends and family are dying to see the new baby, eager to shower her with love.

Skye's mom was in the delivery room with her, so she got to actually witness her granddaughter entering the world. Her dad was out in the waiting room the whole time but was in the room the first chance he got to be able to meet his granddaughter.

Lance, Bobbi, Fitz, and Jemma were their first four visitors.

Bobbi and Jemma were immediately gushing over the baby, saying over and over again how cute she is and how much like Skye she already looks.

Lance and Fitz both say the baby is cute too, but not as enthusiastically as Jemma and Bobbi. All four of them get the chance to hold the baby, Jemma and Bobbi longer than Lance and Fitz.

Kebo shows up not long after that with his wife Hannah. They hadn't been at the party, but Grant had left a message on his phone when they were on their way to the hospital. He congratulates Grant first and then Skye. He even holds the baby, albeit a bit awkwardly.

Mack shows up in the room too, a smile on his face as he congratulates them and welcomes them into parenthood. He holds the baby of course, his smile growing wider when Skye refers to him as 'Uncle Mack'.

Amanda appears as well, nearly crying from how happy she is for them and how cute her little niece is. She promises to spoil that little girl to her heart's content.

They tell Kebo that he's the godfather and Jemma that she's the godmother. Both of them are extremely honored.

All in all, their baby's first round of visitors is a huge success.

* * *

They get to take their baby home just a few days after she's born. Skye's not at all surprised that the press ended up finding out what hospital she was staying at. But she's extremely grateful for hospital security personnel and Mack. She wasn't even expecting him to help out since he's just her driver, but she's glad that he does.

By the time they get back to their place they've completely shaken their paparazzi tail and are more than excited to show their beautiful baby girl her new home.

The nursery is done up all nice, completely personalized for their little girl. Or, as personalized as it can get for a baby who hasn't been in the world for very long. Grant did the whole nursery himself, with help, of course, from the rest of the guys. They were all more than willing to help out. It's a soft purple color with butterflies hung up on all the walls, the crib pushed to one corner of the room with a changing table right next to it. Multiple shelves are nailed into a couple of the walls holding different items for their baby girl along with a dresser for her clothes set against the wall opposite the crib.

Skye's so excited to actually get to use everything now.

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That first night home is definitely a crazy one. Skye is beyond exhausted the next morning after having to wake up every few hours to breastfeed the baby. Grant offers to do the burping and diaper changes.

Later that night Skye posts her first photo of the baby. Things have calmed down a little bit and she decides to post a photo she took from earlier that morning. Their baby girl is lying in the middle of the master bed after having been fed, burped, and changed. She's fast asleep and Skye thinks she looks absolutely adorable in that moment.

She adds a caption to the photo, of course. _First night home was a doozy, but so worth it because of this little angel face. Jessica Katherine, our sweet angel. Daddy and I love you so much already, baby girl. #JessicaKatherine  
_

After posting the photo she lies down right next to her daughter, to catch a few z's herself. But, of course, Jessica wakes up not long after, ready to be fed again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica's first year of life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the second chapter of this little number that I absolutely loved getting to write.
> 
> I've never had kids of my own, but my mom babysat a lot when I was younger, so I had to do a lot of googling to make sure that I got things right as to the milestones within a child's first year of life. Hope I did alright with it.
> 
> Either way, I think to think it's pretty fun.
> 
> Enjoy!

That first year spent with their little girl is definitely one they won't be forgetting anytime soon. Especially because Grant takes so many pictures to commemorate every single moment they spend with their daughter. She's seriously a little concerned about it; his Instagram is literally just pictures of Jessica. There's the occasional one of her mixed in there, or some of the two of them or all three of them, or stuff related to his bar, but for the most part it's just Jessica.

All their friends and family love the pictures though, especially her parents. Her dad is always sharing the photos with his friends at work, telling them all about his precious granddaughter. Skye can't really blame him, though. Her daughter's a pretty cute one.

* * *

The first holiday that pops up after their beautiful baby girl is born is Easter.

They don't go too all out because Jessica's only a week old by this point and is still way too young to actually remember anything about the holiday. They do get her a few baby toys in an Easter basket and a special new Easter dress that of course they take her picture in and send to their family and friends. And of course her parents get to see their granddaughter in the dress in person when the family gets together for the annual Easter celebration/barbecue that Skye's godfather Nick puts on for only a select few.

Skye's known Nick her entire life because of her parents and knowing how stoic and unemotional he is on a day-to-day basis, she really has no idea how in the world he came up with having an Easter celebration. But it's free food so she really can't complain too much.

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About two weeks after Jessica is born they release official photos in a magazine spread, the same photographer from their wedding takes the photos. They do an interview along with the photos, and this time around Grant joins in on the interview with his wife. He'll take any opportunity he can to gush over his daughter and how much he loves her.

The photos range from posed to candid shots and Skye's in love with just about every single one of them. There's some of just Jessica by herself, some of Jessica and Grant, Jessica and Skye, and some of the three of them together.

The interviewer asks them all the standard questions in the interview; what it's like to be new parents, what their favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood is, what they're looking forward to most in the coming years, etc.

Just like with the magazine about their marriage, the one about their baby completely flies off the shelves in every store that stocks it.

Her dad buys a copy of it and takes it to work to show it to all of his coworkers that'll pay attention. He's so proud to show off his beautiful granddaughter.

* * *

Mother's Day is the first holiday with their baby girl that they really take the time to celebrate in its fullness. It's Skye's first Mother's Day, and Grant does everything he can to make sure the day is one hundred percent extra special for her.

He gets up a little bit before Jessica starts to stir and takes care of her dirty diaper before they go downstairs and start on their plans. The two of them spend some time in the kitchen before waking Skye up with a homemade breakfast in bed; pancakes shaped like hearts, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice, with a single red rose lying across the top end of the tray.

She can't help but smile at the sight she sees when she wakes up. Her husband is standing next to the head of their bed, their daughter strapped to his chest in the baby wrap sling they got at the baby shower, a wooden tray filled with breakfast foods in his hands. She immediately takes their daughter from him, mainly because she needs to feed the little girl, but also because she loves getting to cuddle with her baby.

They spend pretty much the entire day in bed, just snuggling up together and being a family. There are a lot of quiet talks between husband and wife, and making faces at Jessica trying to get the little girl to smile at them. She doesn't smile at them, but they still have fun anyways.

Later in the day Skye posts a photo she took from an above angle while she was breastfeeding Jessica for breakfast, the side of the baby's face and her own bare breast barely visible in the photo. _Spent the whole day cuddling up with the special little girl who's my entire reason for getting to celebrate today. :) I love you so very much, my sweet angel. #JessicaKatherine_

* * *

Father's Day arrived next and, like Grant did for her, Skye made sure it was an extra special day for him. She woke Jessica up and took care of her diaper and then fed her while she made breakfast for Grant. She's pretty proud of herself for getting so good at being able to do things with one hand because she's got a baby in the other, usually breastfeeding.

They took the breakfast to him in bed like he did for her on Mother's Day, a breakfast consisting of French toast, eggs, bacon, and orange juice. She loved getting to see that wide smile on his face when he saw them walk in the room.

Just like on Mother's Day, they spend most of the day cuddled up in bed together, eating the breakfast she made for her husband and talking quietly to one another and their little girl. Jessica's about a week shy of turning three months old and is still very much the number one joy in both of their lives.

Considering Grant's Instagram is completely full of pictures of Jessica, it's no wonder at all that he posts a photo of him and his little girl; it's naptime for their baby, Skye too apparently as she's fast asleep right next to him, and Jessica's lying asleep on his bare chest, her tiny mouth parted as she breathes, one tiny hand balled up into a fist by her mouth. He's smiling up at the camera with nothing but love in his eyes. _First Fathers Day of many. So glad I get to celebrate this amazing day with my beautiful little girl. I love you so much, Jess. Thank you for making me a dad_.

* * *

The first time she finally smiled at them it was definitely an exciting occasion. It wasn't anything special or extravagant, either. Just a normal day at home when it happened.

Skye's just lounging around at home because she doesn't have any projects currently in the works, mainly because she wants to spend time with her daughter, while Grant's at work at his bar. He wanted to stay home too, but he has a business to make sure stays afloat.

She's on the couch watching TV and Jessica is lying comfortably on one of her many blankets on the living room floor, a few of her toys scattered around her. It's the middle of the morning and she's wide awake, batting at the objects hanging above her from the play set.

At some point in the morning Skye ends up lying on the floor next to Jessica because she really can't resist not being near her baby. She knows it's going to suck so bad when she eventually has to get back out there and do something for work.

"Part of me wishes you could talk already so I would have someone to have conversations with while we're here. But another part doesn't want that because I want you to stay my little angel forever. Your daddy does too. We both just want you to stay our baby for as long as possible, angel."

Jessica simply turns her head towards her mom and then her eyes light up as the corners of her tiny mouth turn upwards and she squeals, waving her arms in the air.

Skye honestly feels like her heart is going to leap out of her chest at the sight. She immediately texts Grant to tell him the news because he probably can't answer a phone call since he's working.

Once Grant gets home from work she greets him at the door and reiterates the good news to him about how Jessica smiled at her earlier in the day.

Grant immediately grins and takes Jessica into his arms, telling her how proud he is. Then she smiles at him and she swears he's going to cry. He starts making faces at her, trying to get her to smile wider and then the most amazing thing happens. She laughs.

The both of them can't help but laugh as well as they listen to Jessica laugh at the faces Grant makes at her. It's their new favorite sound.

* * *

July is a fun month for a few different reasons. Skye's birthday, the Fourth of July, and a wedding.

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They don't do anything too crazy for her birthday. She just wants to spend it at home with her family. Of course, that doesn't stop her parents from coming by the house to wish her a happy birthday. Though, she's pretty sure her dad has ulterior motives, namely a baby called Jessica.

Jemma stops by as well because even though Skye's married with a kid now, it won't stop her best friend from coming by the house to have a little bit of fun together.

Skye gets lots of 'happy birthday' wishes from her fans on Twitter and Instagram that entire day. Her fans are the sweetest. She's lucky to have them. And her husband, daughter, parents, and friends.

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Just two days after her birthday is the Fourth of July. Jessica is still very young, just a little over three months old now, so of course she won't remember anything that happens that particular day, but that doesn't mean Grant and Skye can't have some fun of their own with the holiday.

The little family of three gets dressed up and goes to a pool party that Trip decided to put on at his place. Skye recognizes a lot of the people there as some of the cast and crew of the movie she worked on with him. Jemma and Fitz are there because Trip invited them after having got on so well with them at the wedding. Mack and his family are there because apparently Trip had met them once before the movie he worked on with Skye and then got to know them better during the wedding. There are also people there she doesn't recognize, probably friends of Trip's. All in all it's a really great turnout.

They choose to put Jessica in a cute little sundress and sun hat that they got as a gift at one point. She can't remember if it was from the baby shower or sometime after Jessica was born. But either way, her baby girl looks absolutely adorable in the ensemble.

Grant just goes with a simple pair of navy swim trunks, a grey t-shirt, and some flip flops. Skye's glad it's a short sleeved shirt because she really loves seeing those arm muscles of his.

Skye decides on wearing a patriotic bikini that hugs her nicely underneath a pair of denim shorts and a navy tank top, a pair of slip on Converse on her feet, and her hair pulled up into a tight bun on top of her head. One would think she'd have worn the shorts and shirt the whole time because it hadn't been that long since she'd given birth, but as soon as she found a lounge chair, the bikini came out in full force.

She hasn't been self-conscious of her own body in a very long time; she has no problems showing off a little skin when the occasion calls for it. Plus, there is an added bonus of Grant not being able to keep his eyes off her boobs most of the time. Also, she just gave birth three months ago so why should she be ashamed of showing off her body? It's not the same as it was before she got pregnant, but she literally pushed a whole human being out of her lower extremities without the use of drugs. She wanted to go au natural which is a decision she regretted almost immediately.

The party consists of food and a few different lawn games for the various kids in attendance at the event. They have fun catching up with friends and meeting a few new people.

The night caps off with an incredible fireworks show put together by Trip and a couple of pyrotechnics guys he knows in the industry from a smaller movie he did when he was just starting out.

Skye gets Jemma to take a picture of their little family for her to post. She and Grant are sitting side by side in their chairs, one of his arms wrapped around her with her head resting on his shoulder. She's holding Jessica facing against her chest because the little tyke fell asleep earlier in the evening. She honestly thinks it's one of her favorite pictures. _Happy Fourth from the Ward's [firework emoji] #JessicaKatherine_

_._

_._

_._

The end of July brings Bobbi and Lance's wedding. Skye's one of the bridesmaid's, of course, considering she'd been friends with Bobbi for a few years and is the one who introduced the two of them after all.

The whole ceremony is absolutely beautiful and she's pretty much crying by the end of it because she's remembering her own wedding to Grant and she loves these two friends of hers and is so happy for them. The two can bicker and argue all they want, but Skye could see how much love they have for each other when they spoke their vows to each other and shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

The reception afterwards is fun too; the food is great, the music is great, and Jessica hardly gets fussy at all, which Skye counts as the real blessing here.

She asks Bobbi at one point during the reception when the two plan on having any kids and Bobbi chokes on her drink. Apparently, the other actress wants to wait a little while before having a family. She's got a few big projects in the works and just wants to focus on those first.

All Skye can think is 'Bless her heart'. Pregnancy can pop up when you least expect it. Like it did for her. But she loves her daughter so she can't complain too much.

* * *

By the beginning of August, Jessica's began babbling a whole lot more. Grant's super convinced that she's going to start speaking not too soon after because of it.

"She's going to talk, Skye, I can feel it."

"Babe, she's barely four months old, I really don't think she's going to start talking complete sentences yet."

"If you talk like that and discourage her then of course she won't."

She rolls her eyes at him, but the smile is still on his face. She loves how much he loves their daughter.

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August also meant the Los Angeles premiere for the movie she filmed right at the beginning of her pregnancy.

In all honesty, she had kind of forgotten about it in all the excitement of having a baby and being a new mom. She didn't go on the majority of the press tour across the globe the last couple of months or so because she needed to be there with her baby since it's only been a few months since she was born. She went to as many press events as she could in the states though, Grant tagging right along to take care of Jess, hoping that people would ask her more questions about the movie than about her personal life. Thankfully, she only got a small handful of personal questions.

But by the end of August, it's time for her to get all gussied up for the big Hollywood premiere.

Grant agreed to be her date, of course, and the two of them got all dressed up and headed out. They left Jessica at her parents' house for the afternoon while they're at the premiere. She knows her parents are going to have the live streaming footage up on their computer so hopefully that'll appease her baby girl.

She walks along the carpet, posing for photos and smiling the whole time while Grant stands off to the side and watches her with nothing but love in his eyes. She wanted him to join her on the carpet, but he wanted her to have this moment for herself. It's her first big Hollywood event since Jess was born and he didn't want to detract any attention away from her.

Eventually she gets to the end where the main carpet interviewer is waiting for her.

"Welcome, Skye. Thanks for joining me up here."

"Thanks for having me."

"So, big movie premiere today, nothing too new or strange for you, except that things are a little bit different for you this time around being here."

"Yes, that is true."

"You are a new mom."

"I am."

"How old is your daughter now?"

"She'll be five months in just a few days and I absolutely love being a mom. It's such an incredible experience. I never thought I could love someone so much until I saw and held my daughter for the first time in the hospital."

"That's great. And I understand you were pregnant during the filming of this movie."

"I was for a little while, yeah. I found out I was pregnant right after they cast me, and when I told them in case they wanted to recast my part, they said it would be fine and that they'd just work around it. Thankfully it wasn't too action heavy, and my bump didn't really start showing up until later in production so it didn't end up creating too many problems for the filming process."

"I'm sure everyone was grateful for that."

"They definitely were. But they were also very excited for me. This is my first kid so the whole thing was definitely an experience."

"I'm sure it was. And what can you tell us about this film?"

"Well, this is obviously my first time watching the movie after it's all been cut together. But we filmed some really great stuff that I can't wait for everyone to see."

"Well we can't wait to watch it. Congratulations on the movie, and your baby, and have fun inside."

"I will, thank you."

After the interview it's time for the movie. She meets up with Grant again right outside the theater and he takes her hand and gives her a quick kiss, telling her she did great. Then they go inside to watch the movie.

The whole movie turned out to be a lot better than she initially thought that it would.

It does super well it's opening weekend in the box office too. The reception from the fans is incredible.

* * *

When September hits, Jessica becomes a lot more fussy and irritable during the daytime and is constantly rubbing at her face. Skye grows extremely concerned about her baby and tries everything she can to get her to calm down.

Only two days of it and she's just about running herself ragged because she can't figure out what's wrong with her own daughter. So on the third day of all of this, she finally calls up her mom, begging for her help because she doesn't know what to do and is about to lose her mind.

Her mom shows up and she immediately thrusts the baby into her arms, begging for her to figure out what's going on. It takes Melinda only a matter of seconds to figure out what's going on: Jessica is teething. And Skye instantly feels like an idiot because how could she have not figured that out?

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Skye. You're a first time parent."

"But I could have Googled it. I don't know why I didn't think to Google it."

"You know as well I do that the internet is not always reliable. And it makes sense why you wouldn't think to do so. Your mind was elsewhere."

"So she's really just teething?"

"Mm-hmm. She's just upset because her gums are hurting and she wants it to stop."

Skye frowns as she watches her daughter gum on one of Melinda's fingers.

"Oh, my poor baby."

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By the end of September their daughter is six months old and she gets her first two teeth before the month is out.

* * *

By the end of October, Jessica is seven months old and it's time for Halloween.

Skye insists on dressing her daughter up as an angel, since she is their little angel after all. She puts her baby girl in a simple white dress with gold trim around the edges of the dress, white stockings and little white booties, and a gold fabric headband to symbolize a halo.

She and Grant take a bunch of photos of Jessica sitting up on the couch. She just looks way too adorable in her costume and they can't resist. Of course they send the photos to their close friends and family. Everyone loves the photos.

When they get back to their house after a couple hours of trick-or-treating, Jessica is completely asleep. They end up leaving her in her costume for bedtime, neither of them wanting to risk her waking up when they go to change her into her pajamas. They just remove the stockings since they have to change her diaper.

Skye can't help but to post a picture of her sleeping angel. Her head is turned to the side and one hand is curled into a fist by her mouth. _Apparently first Halloweens can be very exhausting. #JessicaKatherine_

* * *

In the middle November, Jessica starts crawling. Like, actual crawling across the floor on her hands and knees. Before that she'd just been wiggling around on her stomach. Now she's full on crawling.

They're both so excited for their baby, and Skye manages to get it on video so she can send it to her parents. She knows they'd love to see it.

Of course, Jessica crawling now means that it's time to really baby proof the house. The last thing either of them wants is Jessica getting hurt because she got into somewhere that could have been prevented.

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Not long after she started crawling, Jessica came down with a really bad cold.

Skye absolutely hates that she can't just take away her baby's cold, she doesn't like seeing her little one so upset. It only lasts a few days at the beginning of the month, but it feels like forever. Jessica is completely miserable and that results in both Grant and Skye being slightly irritated during the day and getting snippy with each other over the smallest things.

They're both extremely thankful when Jessica eventually gets over her cold and is their happy girl again.

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Skye's always loved Thanksgiving, getting to be with her close family and celebrate the holiday. It being Jessica's first Thanksgiving makes it even that much more special for her and her family.

She hosts a big Thanksgiving dinner like she did the previous year. Things are even more exciting because she has a daughter now. Her parents stay with them for a few days, mainly because they want to spend time with their granddaughter.

Skye swears her dad would spoil that little girl every day of the year if he could. He spends pretty much the entire holiday holding Jessica, and playing with her, and talking with her, trying to get her to say 'Papa'. No matter how hard he tries, all Jessica does is mumble incoherent nonsense and reach out to grab at his nose. And she also tries to grab at everything sitting close enough to her at the kitchen table. So they have to get her favorite elephant doll and give that to her, which helps for a little while.

Even though she's barely eight months old, Grant and Phil try to get her to take a few steps across the living room carpet while they hold tightly to her hands. All Jessica really does is squeal and push hard off the floor with her little legs.

Skye can't help but smile and laugh as she takes a video on her phone of the sweet sight as Grant bends down to blow raspberries on Jessica's cheek, making the little girl laugh even harder.

The dinner goes off without too many problems. Jessica only has a couple of meltdowns because her gums are constantly sore due to more teething. Skye's heart honestly breaks a little at having to watch her baby be in such pain. For some reason, it's worse to watch than when Jess had her first shots. She's pretty sure her daughter inherited her hatred of needles.

Either way, dinner is a success and she's excited to do it again the next year.

* * *

December means Christmas, Skye's absolute favorite holiday of them all. And she's pretty much determined to make sure her daughter will be able to share that love when she's old enough.

They go out to get a tree and Skye spends a good amount of time making sure it's the absolute perfect tree for their little family of three to have in their home.

When they get home and actually start decorating, Skye makes a point of blasting Christmas music all through the house, much like how she did the year before, though she hangs a significantly less amount of mistletoe this year. She even pulls out some Santa hats for her and Grant to wear while they decorate their home.

At one point, she picks Jessica up from where she'd been lying on the floor and dances around the living room with her, singing Christmas songs to her and tickling her tummy, making the little girl laugh.

Grant posts a video to his Instagram of the two girls dancing around. _Getting ready for Christmas with my two favorite girls. :)_

Christmas Eve morning they go out and get Jessica's picture with Santa. Skye's very grateful that things go smoothly and Jessica doesn't throw any kind of fit or anything since she's still teething. Things go pretty smoothly and Skye's absolutely in love with the photos they got.

That night they put Jessica to bed and then curl up together on the couch to watch Christmas movies while drinking hot cocoa, praying that their little girl will stay asleep all night. Thankfully she only wakes up once.

Christmas morning is an eventful day for them. They wake Jessica up first, and have a warm breakfast of pancakes and bacon, along with some orange juice. Then they move on to actually opening their presents in the living room.

Jessica plays more with the bags and wrapping paper that her presents came in rather than the actual presents she received. Skye's not that surprised though, her parents say that she did the same exact thing for her first Christmas.

They go over to her parents' house later in the day, once Jessica has had a nap, so they can spend some time with them, and so the older couple can play with their granddaughter and give the little girl her Christmas presents.

Jessica falls asleep before they can even get her in the car afterwards and they're both really hoping she'll stay asleep. Thankfully she does and they can get her inside and in her bed.

Skye posts a photo later in the day of little Jessica from earlier that morning, sitting up in front of the Christmas tree a wide smile on her face. _Hope everyone had as good of a Christmas as this little angel who is nine months old today. Why does time have to go by so fast? I don't like it. #JessicaKatherine_

All in all, it's a pretty good holiday for the Ward family.

* * *

Obviously Jessica doesn't stay up all night on New Years. She's asleep pretty early on in the evening so it's just Grant and Skye celebrating the New Year. They don't really mind though. They curl up on the couch together, drink champagne, watch the ball drop in Times Square, and share a midnight kiss.

It's a pretty good evening for them; they have fun celebrating the New Year.

Grant even posts a side view photo of the two of them kissing right at midnight to his Instagram. _Ringing in the New Year right with my favorite person in the world._

Skye reposts it to hers a few minutes later.

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Early on in January, Jessica stands up all on her own.

Right in the middle of the living room floor, surrounded by her favorite toys, she uses the coffee table near her for support to pull herself up into a standing position.

Skye's lounging back on the couch, reading through different audition possibilities on her tablet, and Grant is going over the books for the bar on his laptop when it happens. Neither of them are quite sure what's going to happen next, but that doesn't stop Skye from switching to the camera on her tablet and pointing it at her daughter, hoping for something.

But…nothing happens. Jessica just stands there for a moment, lifts one foot as if she's going to take a step, lets go of the coffee table, and then promptly falls back down onto her diaper covered butt. Even though she doesn't walk, she still has figured out how to stand up all on her own and they're pretty excited about it.

The best part is that it happens on Grant's birthday. He's never been a huge fan of celebrating his birthday, which is something Skye found out pretty early on in their relationship, but this year his birthday has a little bit more meaning to it.

* * *

February brings Valentine's Day.

Even though it's Valentine's Day, they somehow manage to rope her parents into watching Jessica for them so they can have a nice night out together. Skye hopes beyond all hope that the paparazzi doesn't find them that night; all she wants is a nice night out with her husband without the paparazzi finding them.

Thankfully, they are able to get that.

The dinner is amazing and they have a wonderful conversation just the two of them. They exchange gifts at the restaurant too, both gifts being super meaningful to them and their entire relationship. Skye falls a little bit more in love with him in that moment.

In the car on the way home, she texts her parents and asks them to keep Jessica for the entire night and through into the morning because she plans on showing her man just how much she loves him when they get home.

She doesn't even need to check her phone to know that they said okay.

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By the end of that month, just after she's turned eleven months old, she says her first word and they're both completely overjoyed about it; they'd been going back and forth for a while, debating on if she'd say 'dada' or 'mama' first.

They're hanging out with Skye's parents when Jessica actually does say her first word: Nana.

If they're being honest, Grant and Skye are actually a little offended she didn't say 'mama' or 'dada', considering they are the ones who gave her life. But they don't stay offended for too long considering their baby girl said her first word and it was one of her family members.

Melinda is beyond thrilled, immediately taking Jessica into her arms and kissing her all over her tiny face. Jessica says 'Nana' again as she places her hands on Melinda's cheeks.

Phil's a little bummed that Jessica didn't say 'Papa' first, but he loves the happy smile on his wife's face as she talks with their granddaughter so he can't complain too much.

* * *

Neither of them were ready for the end of March to arrive. Not in the slightest. The end of March means their little girls' first birthday and Skye honestly didn't think she'd be able to handle that when it arrived. She swears every day in the week leading up to it that it feels like not that long ago when she was in labor to bring that precious little angel of hers into the world.

But there's absolutely no postponing whatsoever of the inevitable. It's their baby girls' first birthday; they're going to have a party with their closest friends and family to celebrate the momentous occasion.

It's just a smallish gathering at their house because, even though their baby is turning a year old, Jessica won't remember any of it and so there's no point in making it too crazy of a party.

They wake their baby up that morning together and Grant makes her some pancakes that Skye deems 'special birthday pancakes' because Grant mixes multi-colored sprinkles into the pancake batter. Jessica absolutely loves the colorful pancakes.

Skye gets a couple of cute pictures of her daughter happily tearing apart the pancakes and feeding herself. She can't help herself from posting a photo of her little girl, a wide smile on her face with bits of broken up pancakes stuck on her face and hands. _Specially made birthday pancakes by daddy for the birthday girl. Think we've found a new tradition. #JessicaKatherine #firstbirthday #cantbelieveshesalreadyayearold #timeflies #pleasestaymybabyforever_

The three of them spend the morning together, celebrating Jessica's birthday as a family before the party later in the day. They spend those few hours in the master bedroom, sitting on the bed and playing, some of Jessica's favorite songs softly playing in the back through Skye's phone.

Once they've eaten lunch and Jessica has had a nap, their house starts to fill up with those invited to the party. The guest list consists of mainly adults, considering Jessica hasn't really made many friends yet at such a young age. But there are a few kids there, like Mack and Elena's children, and her and Grant's nephews and niece through his sister. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves fairly well throughout the whole afternoon, which Skye is especially grateful for.

The one thing she's not too happy about is that her daughter gets passed around like a sack of potatoes for the majority of the party. But she guesses it's because her daughter is loved so much by so many people. It really is amazing to her.

"Crazy, right?"

She smiles at the feeling of her husband's arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She leans back against him and lets out a content sigh.

"What's crazy?"

"That our daughter is already a year old."

"It is pretty crazy. I feel like just yesterday I was feeling her kick for the first time."

"She's growing up so fast."

"Yes she is."

A little while later they have cake. It's a chocolate cake with multicolored frosting and 'Happy Birthday Jessica' written across the top of it.

Everyone sings happy birthday to her while Skye and Grant keep her from attacking the cake before the song finishes. Once the song is done they all eat cake, though Skye's pretty sure that more of Jessica's slice of cake ends up on her face and in her hair rather than actually in her mouth.

After cake it's time for presents.

Jessica gets a lot of great presents from everyone in attendance. There are even a few presents sent to them by some of Skye's fans; just stuffed animals and the like. Nothing too crazy, thank goodness.

The only truly crazy present is from Grant. He is such a sucker for his little girl; there is no doubt about it. He got her a dog. An actual, living and breathing, dog. Apparently he got Kebo to help him with the whole thing and that results in a death glare being sent Kebo's way for the rest of the party.

She loves her husband and her daughter, but he really should have talked to her first about getting Jessica a dog. But it is a pretty cute dog. It's a beautiful, black, one year old, German Sheppard whose name is Max. She falls in love with the dog pretty quickly, though.

By the end of the party, after everyone's gone home, Jessica's exhausted from all the excitement and is fast asleep before Grant and Skye even get her in her bed.

She fell asleep against Max, lying on the living carpet. Max is still wide awake but he doesn't move as Jessica lies against him. Grant and Skye smile at the sight and neither have the heart to move her yet.

She posts a photo later of their baby girl snuggled up next to her from earlier in the morning. They're both smiling at the camera, their faces pressed together.

She posts the photo to her Instagram after they put Jessica in her bed. _Can't believe it's already been a year since this beautiful little angel came into our lives. Daddy and I are so very lucky to have you in our lives, baby girl. But please stop getting older. I don't think your daddy and I can handle it. #JessicaKatherine_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> The next chapter covers a lot of stuff, guys. Are you ready?
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time really does fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the final installment of this little number. Thought I am thinking about writing some one-shots to highlight a few moments in this universe that have been touched on but not really explored. Not sure when it'll happen, but I think it definitely will. :)
> 
> Also, this one is most definitely the longest chapter out of the three of them.
> 
> Enjoy!

The five years following Jessica's first birthday are definitely full of ups and downs. As everyone's life is.

Skye makes some more movies and has a guest spot on a few different TV shows here and there, as it usually goes for her. She loves getting to do what she does.

Being a mother just makes everything much more interesting and sometimes exciting and a little bit more stressful at this point in her career.

* * *

Just a few days after her first birthday Jessica takes her first steps.

Skye's so glad that she manages to get the camera on her tablet pulled up in time to catch that amazing moment on video, handing the tablet up to Grant since Jessica is already focused on her.

Jessica walks straight to her across the carpet, albeit a bit wobbly, a wide smile on her face as she falls into her arms.

They're both so excited for their baby girl, but now that she can walk, it means more safety proofing of the house is in order.

The following holidays are much more fun to experience now that Jessica can walk and talk. And their little girl definitely has a lot of fun exploring on two feet, Max following along right behind her.

* * *

She books a spot on a made-for-TV movie that's filming in the middle of the summer, so while she's out doing that, Grant's at home with Jessica if he isn't working as well. He'd been passing more of the responsibility at the bar over to the other employees little by little so he can stay home with Jessica whenever Skye's at work, and so that he can be home more in a general sense as well. Of course he still goes in occasionally because he is the owner and boss after all.

If they're both working on a particular day then Jessica gets to hang out with her Papa and Nana which the little girl loves to do. But most of the time Grant is the one to watch her. So of course he sends Skye photos throughout the day of just Jessica or the two of them together.

She doesn't get to check her phone until she's on a break from filming, so it's always nice for her to see those photos when she has a little downtime.

And, of course, she shows off her favorite of the photos to just about anyone who will look.

Her favorite people to show are the make-up and hair department ladies she spends quite a bit of her time on set with them. Those ladies are always so enthusiastic about getting to see the photos and gushing over them.

* * *

Jessica and Max continue to grow right before her eyes and are the absolute best of friends, basically inseparable. They nap together, play together, have talks which mainly consists of Jessica blabbering complete and utter nonsense to the dog; Max even becomes more protective of little Jessica as she begins roaming around on two feet all over the house and yard.

* * *

When Jessica's just over a year and a half old, in the middle of October, Jemma and Fitz get married, they'd gotten engaged in the early months of the year, and of course the little angel is the flower girl. Skye's the Maid of Honor, naturally, and one of Fitz's oldest friends from back home in Scotland is his Best Man. Grant still gets to be part of the wedding party, though, as one of Fitz's Groomsmen, along with Trip. A couple of Jemma's friends from the hospital are the other bridesmaids.

It's a very beautiful ceremony and Skye definitely sheds a few tears during it. Jessica shows a great amount of concern when she sees her mother crying, even if it is in the middle of the ceremony. She has to tell her daughter a couple of times that she's fine in order for her to calm down. That little girl of hers definitely has a big heart just like her daddy.

At the reception, when Skye gives her Maid of Honor speech, she's definitely a blubbering mess by the end of it. Which of course has Jessica concerned all over again.

"Jemma, I love you like a sister, you're my best friend in the entire world and I literally can't even imagine my life without you in it because we've been friends for so long. I am so extremely happy for you right now, marriage is such an amazing thing that I'm glad you now get to experience for yourself. We've both landed ourselves pretty good ones, a lot better than what we imagined when we were weird, awkward seventh graders dreaming about our futures. But I don't think either of us would change a thing about what's happened. And Fitz, you better treat Jemma exactly how she deserves to be treated or so help me I will go to every person I've ever worked with in fight scenes and have them beat the crap out of you." That earns her a laugh from the crowd and a playful glare from Jemma. "But all in all, I am so damn happy for you both and wish you the absolute best of luck going forward."

She definitely steals Jemma away from Fitz for many of the dances, considering she was the one putting together the playlist and put many of her and Jemma's favorite songs from childhood onto that list.

* * *

She lands a TV show guest spot right after Jemma and Fitz's wedding, has a couple of movie auditions, gets a call about appearing on the next season of _Dancing With The Stars_ , and gets pregnant again.

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The second time she gets pregnant, it was sort of planned, in a way. They had started actively trying for another kid once Jessica turned a year and a half in September, but weren't exactly too sure when it would happen again. It didn't take them too long, though, in the end.

She's shooting a few of her scenes for the TV show she landed a guest starring role on for the current season when it happens. She's on set one day, in the middle of one of her scenes, the cameras rolling and everything, when a strong smell comes out of virtually nowhere and her stomach completely churns. She ran for the nearest trashcan and emptied the contents of her stomach into it, only slightly embarrassed because everyone on set was witness to it and she's never once ran out in the middle of a scene like that. The director tells her to head to her dressing room to rest for a bit, but she assures him that she's fine. She's able to finish up the day just fine.

At first her mind went to food poising, thinking maybe it was from something in Craft Services that did her in.

She quickly ruled that out, though, when things started to click together in her mind. It's not like she and Grant have exactly been careful, considering they've been actively trying for another kid. And Max has been a bit more attentive of her recently. She's heard that dogs can tell when a woman is pregnant.

She tells Grant when she gets home that she thinks she might be pregnant and even bought a pregnancy test on the way home.

He's completely thrilled at the idea of having another pair of feet around the house.

She takes the test and they wait together nervously, watching Jessica and Max play together on the floor of the master bedroom.

They check the test together and both of them nearly burst into loud sobs when they see the result of it: Pregnant.

When she tells the producer of the show she's working on that she's pregnant he congratulates her and says that it's fine, that it won't affect her filming at all. Her character's storyline is almost wrapped up anyway so they won't have to do anything too strategic in regards to blocking for the last bit. Now both of her kids will have been on camera before they were actually in the world.

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.

Her parents, Grant's family, and their close friends are all very excited about the new baby when they tell them.

Jessica seems excited as well, when they tell her she's going to be a big sister, but she's still fairly young so they're not quite sure exactly how she feels about the whole thing just yet.

* * *

When she gets the call from the producers of _Dancing With The Stars_ she tells them that she is extremely honored for the call.

Apparently she'd been on their list of potentials for a couple of seasons and they decided to finally call her up. She tells them they should have tried for the current season, or the one after the next because she'll be way too pregnant when the next season actually films to compete.

They tell her that they'll try again for another season.

* * *

They announce the pregnancy online after she passes the three month mark, right after the New Year, using a photo of Jessica to help tell everyone. The little girl is sitting on the ground smiling at the camera, a chalkboard standing next to her with a list of three items written on it. All three of the items are checked off, reading 'Enter this world', 'Steal everyone's hearts', and 'Become a big sister'.

Skye posts the photo on her Instagram, being sure to tag Grant in the corner of it, and just waits for the fan reactions. _Life's about to get a little bit crazier around here. We can't wait. :) #JessicaKatherine #BabyWard_

Grant reposts her photo to his own Instagram. _I'm going to be a dad again! So excited for our new addition._

The fans go absolutely nuts on both Twitter and Instagram. Just like the first time around.

* * *

A large group of their friends and family actually have a bet going on whether it's going to be a boy or a girl this time around. It's pretty much split right down the middle. Hunter is behind the whole thing, of course. He's determined to make a little extra cash on the side. He figured he was right the first time, maybe he'll get lucky this time around again.

He even managed to rope the majority of Skye's fans into the action, getting someone he knows to create a 'Guess Baby Ward's Gender' website, allowing the fans to go on and vote for if they think it's going to be a boy or a girl, and can even give name suggestions. They definitely receive their fair share of odd names, as well as some pretty decent ones. None of the fans are involved in the bet, however, that's just kept to the family and friends.

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.

When they eventually find out the baby's gender, they're both pretty excited. Neither of them really have a preference, though Skye does mention that it'd be nice to have one of each. Whereas Grant is just hoping for a beautiful, happy, healthy baby.

The day after they find out the gender they announce it online. They just wanted that initial day for themselves while they celebrate with their little family.

Skye posts a photo of the ultrasound, with the words 'IT'S A BOY!' written across the top of it. _Now we get to have one of each. Can't wait to meet you, little man. #BabyBoyWard_

The fans completely freak out, many of them giving name suggestions again on Twitter and Instagram.

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Hunter loses all of the money he had in the bet. He was very dead set on it being another girl. That earns him a smack to the back of the head from Bobbi.

* * *

Jessica's second birthday is a pretty fun occasion. Since the little girl is completely obsessed with animals of all kind they have a zoo themed party.

It's a ton of fun for the toddler and she gets a lot of really great presents from everyone in attendance.

* * *

Jemma throws her an amazing baby shower again, just like with Jessica, when she hits the six month mark about a month later.

She gets so many incredible gifts for her unborn son, as well as a few for her to use herself.

She nearly bursts into tears a few different times because of how sweet everyone is being to her. She curses her hormones a couple of times throughout the afternoon, because all of this shouldn't be making her so emotional.

The party truly is amazing and Skye questions Jemma again on why she became a doctor instead of a party planner.

* * *

Max pays a lot more attention to Skye throughout her pregnancy and Jessica isn't too happy about that. She throws a few tantrums that get her sent to time out.

* * *

The last three months of her pregnancy are pretty uneventful; they're just counting down the days until her due date.

They spend those final three months making final touches to their house to get ready for the baby. Especially the nursery.

And they move Jessica from her crib to a 'big girl' bed so they have the crib for the new baby. That's a bit of a rough transition but they manage to survive it.

* * *

It's the middle of the night when she eventually does go into labor. They'd been sleeping in their bed when it happened. Well, on Skye's part it less sleeping and more of trying to find a comfortable sleeping position and trying to stay cool because of the ridiculous summer heat making her miserable.

She immediately wakes up Grant and they get themselves ready to go meet their son.

Thankfully Jessica is having a sleepover with her Papa and Nana so they don't have to worry about her at the moment and can just focus on getting themselves to the hospital.

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.

At 6:43 am in the middle of the summer her son is finally born. He's completely healthy, with a full head of hair much like his big sister had, and has an extremely good set of lungs on him too. She knows that's going to be a serious problem when he won't want to sleep.

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She should have known that Grant's Instagram would soon be full of pictures of their son to join the ones of their daughter.

Much like with their daughter, Grant posts the very first photo of their son. It's a very similar photo to the one he took when Jessica was born.

She's lying in the hospital bed still, holding their son securely in her arms, the little boy wrapped up in a soft, warm blanket and a little blue beanie on his head. _My incredible wife and my amazing son. I love you so much already, Andrew._

Skye posts a photo a few hours later of her son, before she falls completely asleep from exhaustion. It's a photo of her baby boy, fast asleep in his hospital issued crib, wrapped up all snug. _Felt like forever, but also not that long at all, waiting for you to get here. Andrew Phillip Ward. Born July 16_ _th_ _, 2020, at 6:43 am, 6 lbs. 8 oz. I love you so much, my handsome little man. Welcome to the family, #AndrewPhillip_

* * *

Two weeks after they bring baby Andy home Grant suggests that she go out and have a day to herself. She's hesitant at first, not wanting to be away from her kids for any amount of time, even though she knows they'll be perfectly fine with Grant.

Jemma shows up at the door though, and she knows in that moment that it wasn't really a suggestion. She reluctantly leaves the house, kissing both her kids and her husband goodbye, and then heads out with Jemma.

"The kids will be fine, Skye. Grant's a great father."

"Yeah, I know he is. But Andy's only two weeks old, he still needs his momma."

"And you'll see him soon enough again. We're only going to be gone for an hour or two, just so you can have a little bit of a break from being a mum."

"I don't think anyone ever gets a real break from being a mom, but okay."

She has fun hanging out with Jemma, it reminds her of old times before they both grew up and made lives for themselves. But she misses her kids and her husband like crazy and is pretty eager to get home.

When she gets home she nearly breaks down into tears of happiness at the scene she finds.

Grant is lying asleep bare chested in the middle of their large bed. Jessica is curled up against his side, her head resting on his chest. Andrew is lying on his chest in just a diaper, curled up almost into a ball. One of Jessica's hands is resting near Andrew's body and one of Grant's hands is resting flat palmed on Andrew's back, with his other one wrapped around Jessica.

She can't help but to post the photo. _These three will always have my heart. #lovesofmylife #JessicaKatherine #AndrewPhillip_

* * *

About two months after Andrew is born she goes on a talk show to talk about her career, upcoming projects, and, of course, her personal life.

Eventually the hostess brings up the subject of motherhood, and how she's a new mother once again.

"It must be exciting having a baby in the house again."

She can't help but laugh a little.

"We definitely have our work cut out for us, that's for sure. Our daughter turned two just a few months before our son was born, so on top of a newborn we also have a toddler to deal with. And she's having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the new way things are being done around the house. Thank goodness for loving grandparents and aunts and uncles who are willing to help us out, though. They make life so much easier."

"Yes, thank goodness indeed."

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.

.

She definitely wasn't lying to that talk show host about her daughter. Even though Jessica seemed excited at first about the idea of having another baby in the house, they quickly learned that she's not too thrilled about no longer being the center of her parent's attention every hour of every day.

That's why they're so grateful for all the babysitters they have readily available with just a simple call or text. And by babysitters, they mean their friends and family of course.

Her parents are always their first choice, figuring that Jessica can never spend too much time with her grandparents. And the two are always more than willing to take Jessica off their hands for a few hours when they really need it.

Jemma (and by extension, Fitz) is always their second choice, knowing that Jemma will take any opportunity she can, if she isn't at the hospital working, to spend time with her goddaughter.

Kebo would be their third choice since he is Jessica's godfather, but they all know that if he were to actually spend time by himself with the girl something might go horribly wrong.

And of course, if neither of those options pans out on a particular day, they have a whole slew of people willing to watch Jessica for them.

* * *

All of the milestones they experienced with Jessica are just as exciting with Andy.

Even though she's been through it with one kid already, Skye really can't believe how fast her baby boy is growing up.

The first time he smiles and then laughs, the first time he rolls over, the first time he sits up on his own, when he starts crawling, when he gets his first tooth, when he stands up by himself, when he says his first word.

It's all just as amazing as before.

* * *

Andy's first birthday is an exciting occasion.

They wake him up with smiles all around and kisses to his chubby little face. By now Jessica's three and seems to be much more okay with having Andy around the house, once they were able to sit her down and explain to her that just because they have Andy, it doesn't mean they are going to love her any less than they did before. They just have a whole lot more love to share now.

Then of course it's that annual birthday breakfast of pancakes with colorful sprinkles in them. Andy is just about as excited as Jessica had been, and even gets more pancake on his face than Jessica did. So of course Skye posts a photo of the cute scene. _Kid number two with his first annual birthday pancakes. Making this a tradition was definitely a good decision on my part. :) #AndrewPhillip_

They throw a party with all their close friends and family, everyone very excited to celebrate the birth of the second Ward child. Amanda claims she's the most excited since she is Andrew's godmother, though Mack pipes in and likes to think he's more excited because he's the kid's godfather. Skye quickly shuts down that argument, saying she's the most excited considering she's the one who actually gave birth to the kid.

Andy gets so many great gifts from their friends and family, and a few fans as well. His favorite gift though, is the dog he gets from his dad; a one year old chocolate Labrador that they name Buddy. Skye honestly can't believe Grant got them another dog. Though, technically it's Andy's dog, much like Max is Jessica's.

The little boy is completely wiped out by the end of the party, fast asleep on the couch in the living room with Buddy curled up right next to him.

She posts a picture of the two of them sound asleep because she thinks they look absolutely adorable. _Can't believe this little guy is already a year old. The past year has been so much fun getting to watch you grow, and I can't wait to see what kind of person you'll become one day. Daddy, your big sister, and I love you so much. #AndrewPhillip_

* * *

September comes along sooner than she realizes and it means that it's time for Jessica to start school. Well, preschool, actually, but Skye finds that it still breaks her heart a little that her daughter is starting school already.

Jessica's pretty excited about getting to go to school and it takes them a while to get her to go to bed the night before because she's so excited.

Andy's a bit confused when he doesn't see his big sister at home during the day, but is excited to have her home again in the afternoon.

After the first week Jessica seems to be enjoying preschool a lot which Skye counts as a plus in the good parenting column.

* * *

She doesn't even realize that she gets pregnant for a third time until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the middle of September and she was a bit stressed out with a few different projects she's had in the works for a while, and she didn't even register the pain with everything else that was going on. She just thought it was because of the stress.

She was completely devastated after she found out in the hospital what had happened. They told her sometimes those things just happen and there's nothing that can be done.

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She lied in bed and cried her eyes out for days.

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She wanted Jemma to be there with her, but the other woman was out of town for an important doctors' conference. Her mother sat with her for a bit in the beginning, trying her best to comfort her daughter. Grant tried to help her too, but she couldn't look at him, she felt so bad for what happened.

She was surprised, to say the least, to find Grant's friend Kara showing up to comfort her one of those last days. They'd spoken a few different times over the years, but she never thought of herself as close enough friends with the other woman for her to show up at a time like this.

Kara doesn't say or do anything special when she shows up. She just lies quietly next to Skye on the bed while they snack and watch random stuff on TV and occasionally rubs her back silently when she breaks into another crying fit.

Neither of them brings it up after the fact, but there's a new kind of respect there between them. Skye's very grateful for the other women.

And of course, when Jemma gets back from her trip, she immediately hugs Skye and tells her how sorry she is for what happened. Skye has one last good cry on Jemma's shoulder; she really needed her best friend.

* * *

Over the following year, as the months come and go, she's able to come to terms with what happened, and knows that it wasn't her fault in any way. She misses that baby, of course, but she doesn't blame herself anymore, and she apologizes to Grant profusely for shutting out him and the kids during it all.

"It's fine, Skye. I was upset about everything too, but you had it much worse than me, I can't even imagine what it was like for you."

"Well it definitely wasn't easy. But I think, I think I'm doing a lot better. I just needed to have a few good cries and now I can move forward from it."

"Just as long as we don't forget."

"Never."

* * *

She takes the majority of that subsequent year off; doesn't go to any auditions or meetings for projects. She needs time to heal and chooses to spend it with her family.

They have fun celebrating all the different holidays together as a family; having two kids makes things much more fun. And watching Jess and Andy continue to grow right before their eyes is incredible.

* * *

Jessica has her fourth birthday in March of that next year and it's definitely a fun event. Just like with the year before, they invite a bunch of her friends from preschool over to the house.

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Andy's second birthday happens mid-July of that year and it's a dinosaur theme. The little boy is completely obsessed with dinosaurs, much like how his sister was obsessed with animals when she was turning two.

* * *

The months continue to fly by, as do the holidays, and her kids and dogs continue to get older. They have fun celebrating more holidays together and she slowly gets back to doing more work. But she's taking her time, just going to meetings here and there, seeing what catches her eye.

* * *

Jessica starts kindergarten in the fall of 2023 since she's five, and Skye really can't believe how fast time has flown by for them. And since Andy is three, he starts his first year of preschool, excited to be getting to go to school just like his big sister does.

They make a huge deal of the day, considering both kids are now in school, and Grant and Skye are both excited yet don't know what to do with their day since neither child will be at home for six hours.

They end up catching up on as much of the five years' worth of missed sleep as they can in six hours.

* * *

The fourth, and final, time she gets pregnant, it's a bit of a surprise for them. Kind of. They'd been talking about having another kid for a couple of months, since right around Andy's birthday, thinking that they're finally ready for it since it's been almost two years since the miscarriage, but hadn't actually started trying yet. But that doesn't mean they're any less excited about this baby.

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Unfortunately, this pregnancy is far from easy and relaxing.

The first time something happens, they're both terrified out of their minds and are nearly in tears at the doctor's office. Skye's afraid the same thing is happening as before and she really doesn't think she'll be able to go through that again.

Thankfully, the doctor tells them that it's nothing to worry about, that a little spotting is completely normal.

* * *

She's a little hesitant on posting something for the fans this time around once she's out of the first trimester, a little worried that something still might happen. Grant convinces her that it'll be a good idea, that they shouldn't spend the whole pregnancy in fear of something bad happening.

So she decides to have a little fun with it and gets Fitz to help her out since he works in the props department. She gets him to make three of the covers that go on set chairs for actors, one with 'Jessica Katherine' written on the back, 'Andrew Phillip' written on the second, and 'Yet To Be Named' on the last one. Then she has Jessica and Andrew sit in their respective chairs and posts the photo to her Instagram with a simple caption: _Coming Soon. #JessicaKatherine #AndrewPhillip #BabyWard_

* * *

She gets nauseous a lot more with this kid than she did with Jess and Andy. She's less than thrilled about the nausea and lightheadedness; throughout her entire life she's never liked being sick.

But especially at that particular moment, because she's filming a commercial and if it keeps happening then she honestly doesn't know what she's going to do. She can't help but smile to herself at the thought that all three of her children will have been on camera before they were even in the world.

Halfway through the day she goes to the producer to talk to her about what's going on. The woman already knows she's pregnant since she told her so she'd be aware, and she is more than understanding about what Skye's going through. She tells her to try and tough it out a little bit longer, since they're only filming for the day, and they'll try to get her wrapped as quickly as possible just in case, since it isn't too crazy of a shoot and she just has a few lines to say while in a stationary position.

Thankfully they finish filming before it gets to be too late in the day and as soon as she gets home she heaves everything she ate that day into the toilet and then curls up in bed and sleeps.

* * *

She ends up being put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy because of a few other things that happen. She absolutely hates it and is very adamantly against it.

"I don't like not being able to move around and do things, Grant."

"I know you don't, babe. But this is what needs to happen to ensure that you and the baby are as safe as possible."

"Fine. But I'm only doing it for the baby."

* * *

When they find out the baby's gender, they're both pretty excited. Another little girl.

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Hunter loses money again. He'd decided against the online poll and to just stick to the bet between close friends and family.

He really, honestly thought it'd be another boy this time around. Bobbi forbids him from betting on their own child's gender which is how he finds out he's going to be a dad.

Skye's thrilled for them. Hunter's beyond terrified.

* * *

Jemma throws her another amazing baby shower when she hits six months and it's a great party, she gets so many amazing gifts for her little girl.

She's sitting down the majority of the time, mainly due to her six month pregnant belly, but also due to doctors' orders.

She enjoys herself quite a bit, though, as does everyone else at the party.

* * *

They celebrate Jessica's sixth birthday in March, and she's really bummed that she can't get up and move around too much to help out with the party. Max and Buddy hardly ever leave her side throughout the party, much like with the rest of the pregnancy. Those two dogs are very protective and caring. Though Jess and Andy aren't huge fans of their best friends not playing with them all the time.

* * *

She goes into labor sooner than planned. By about a month.

She and Grant are both freaking out because it'd just been a normal day at home for them, only a few days after Jessica's birthday, when it all happened. And it's a bit more painful this time around.

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Her second daughter comes into the world at 2:37 pm.

But just like with her entire pregnancy, the delivery is no walk in the park.

.

.

.

Grant and Melinda, both being in the room with Skye, are very close to tears when the doctor tells them what's going on. Skye has tears streaming down her face from the fear of what's going on and doesn't really catch much of what the doctor says.

All she knows is that something is wrong with her baby.

.

.

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She's moved into an operating room so they can perform the emergency C-section to get the baby out as safely as possible. Grant is the only one allowed in the operating room and he never once leaves her side throughout the whole thing.

Eventually they get the baby out and the nurses take her away to the NICU before Skye even gets a chance to really see her.

.

.

.

Once she's recovered enough from the C-section, they take her to go see her daughter. The little girl is lying in one of the specialized beds and the whole image just breaks her heart a little.

"Would you like to hold her now and try to breastfeed?"

She can't answer the nurse with words, so she simply nods. Grant is right there with her, squeezing her shoulder in support.

They help her get the baby situated properly, kangaroo style under her shirt, skin to skin. They give her a few tips to get the baby to latch on since she's premature.

It takes a few tries but when her baby finally latches on and starts feeding, the dam breaks and tear after tear rolls down her cheeks. She presses a soft, lingering kiss to the top of her baby's head.

"Hi there, my beautiful, brave girl. Welcome to the family."

.

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As per tradition, Grant posts the first photo of their daughter. It's the same type of photo as with the older two kids, but with a slight difference. It's a photo that she didn't even realize he took while she held their baby for the first time in the NICU. _After many ups and downs throughout the pregnancy, the newest member of the Ward family is finally here, even if it was a little sooner than anticipated. We love you so much already, baby girl._

Later that night she posts a photo of her daughter as well. In reality, she just reposts Grant's photo because his account is on private and she wants her fans to be able to see the photo. _At 4 lbs even, our baby girl showed up a little earlier than planned, on April 2_ _nd_ _, 2024, at 2:37 pm, and gave us scare after scare right up until the moment we heard her screams after she came into this world. We're so beyond happy to have you here, my sweet, beautiful rainbow baby #IzabelCharlotte. We love you to the moon and back._

* * *

She has to stay at the hospital for a few days in order to recover a little from the surgery. Baby Izabel needs to stay for a bit longer than that in order for her to be monitored closely by the nurses in the NICU.

But none of that stops the seemingly endless revolving door of visitors. Everyone that shows up is very excited to see the baby and extremely happy that even though she was born earlier than expected, little Izabel is doing just fine.

They decide to tell Trip together when he visits them that he's Izabel's godfather. He's very honored and even tears up a little at the sweet sentiment.

Skye tells Kara alone when she comes by that she's Izabel's godmother because, even though Kara started out as just Grant's friend, she and the raven-haired woman have a very close friendship now. Kara definitely cries.

When her kids come by the hospital she loves to have them right up there on the bed next to her; she loves getting to snuggle up with her babies.

The two kids love to go down to the NICU and watch their little sister sleep through the large window, Jessica making comments here and there about how cute and small she is.

* * *

When they're finally able to bring Izabel home, after about a month, it's all something else entirely. She's still recovering from the C-Section and can't do a whole lot to help out around the house since she has to take it easy, so Grant's really taking on a lot of the heavy lifting by himself. Which is why they're so very grateful for her parents and everyone else that helps them out.

Of course, she still helps out where she can, especially in the later weeks of her recovery as she's regaining her strength and mobility.

Her fans are very supportive and caring while she's recovering.

 _I really do have the best fans. Your letters and kind words while my daughter and I are recovering have been very sweet. Thank you so much_.

* * *

She ends up doing a phone interview about two weeks after Izabel is brought home.

They talk a little about her career first, about any upcoming projects she has, or potential projects. She realizes it's not as many as it used to be. Then they move on to her family.

"As I understand it, you have three children now."

She can't help but smiles. "Yes, I do. I gave birth to another beautiful little girl about a month and a half ago. My husband and I are completely over the moon."

"That's so great to hear. I'm a father myself and I know plenty about the ups and downs of parenthood. I can't imagine what it must be like when you add to the fact that you're a world famous actress."

"It definitely adds something to all of this, that's for sure. My two oldest know what I do, and occasionally they come to work with me and get to see firsthand what I do."

"Well that must be exciting for them."

"It is. Of course, my eldest doesn't seem to like it too much when I have to kiss someone else for a particular role. According to her, I'm only allowed to kiss her daddy like that."

"That's adorable."

"It definitely can be. I love being a mom, possibly more than I love acting. It's such an incredible experience that I'm glad I get to be a part of."

"Parenthood truly is a magical thing."

"That is most certainly is."

* * *

She's very grateful when she's finally able to stand up and walk around for longer periods of time and is able to do much more than she had been doing before.

She's a little eager to get back out there and keep working, making movies and shows for people to enjoy. But she also doesn't want to stretch herself too thin or stress herself out too bad. She just needs to take some time and relax and let her body get back into the swing of taking care of children full time before getting back into Hollywood. She knows it'll take a little time, but eventually she'll get back to it.

* * *

And that's how she finds herself her now, with a six and a half year old, a four year old, a five month old, a German Sheppard, and a Labrador, making PB&J sandwiches for her eldest two kids to take to school.

She loves all three of her kids so much, loves getting to do things like this for them. Ever since she started her family she's been taking on fewer roles, and less demanding roles so that she can be present for more moments like today.

The first day of school is upon them once again; first grade for Jessica and the second year of preschool for Andy. How did time go by so fast for them?

"Mommy, are you okay?"

She can't help but smile at her daughter's concern for her. She is still so much like her father in that way.

"Yeah, I'm fine, angel. Are you ready for your first day of school?"

Jessica nods her head enthusiastically. "Yeah."

"Well then hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can go," she tells her daughter.

"Okay."

"Andy, you need to hurry up too please."

"Mm-kay, mommy."

"Jess, did you and Andy remember to feed Max and Buddy?" she asks her eldest.

Jessica nods. "We did after we got dressed."

She smiles. "Good girl."

"Who's ready for their first day of school?"

"Daddy!" Both kids shout excitedly. They really do love their dad.

She turns around to see her husband and smiles at him. "Hey, I thought you had to go into the bar early today and weren't gonna be back until this afternoon."

He shrugs. "Kebo agreed to cover the morning shift for me, and I'm taking the afternoon shift so that I can be here to see the kids off on their first day. You have that meeting for that new project, right?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm. I'm taking Iz with me and if I'm done in time I'll pick up Jess and Andy from school. If not I'll see if Jemma or one of my parents can do it."

He nods. "Yeah, okay, sounds good."

"Daddy, are you coming with us?" Jessica asks him from her place at the dining room table.

He smiles at his daughter and nods his head. "I most certainly am, angel. Is that okay with you?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Great. Now go get ready so we can head out." He gestures with his head towards the stairs. "Don't want to be late on your first day."

Jessica smiles up at him and then jumps up from her chair, darting towards the stairs to go to her bedroom. Andy quickly follows suit, sliding down out of his chair and moving towards his bedroom.

"You couldn't have let them finish eating first and then put their dishes in the sink?" she asks her husband, continuing to make the two lunches in front of her.

He smiles at her sheepishly. "Sorry."

She gives him a small smile. "It's fine. Just bring the dishes over here, please."

"Yes, dear," he replies with his own smile, picking up the two bowls and carrying them into the kitchen. He drops them into the sink and then presses a kiss to her temple. "Is Izzy ready to go?" he asks her.

"Just need to make sure she's got a clean diaper on," she tells him.

"I got it." He turns around and makes his way into the living room, lifting the infant out of the playpen and blowing a raspberry on her stomach before lying her down on the carpet to change her diaper, making faces at her and tickling her tummy.

She smiles at the heart-warming sight as she finishes up the lunches and packs them into the two kids' lunch boxes.

"Mom, dad, we're ready!" she hears her eldest shout as two pairs of shoe-clad feet make their way quickly down the stairs.

"And so is little Izzy," Grant says, lifting Izabel off the floor and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Skye, you ready to go?"

She nods. "Yeah. I just have to grab my shoes and bag. Jess, Andy, come get your lunches and then go get in the car, please."

Both kids dart over to her and grab their respective lunch bags before running towards the front door and out to the car, making sure to say goodbye to their dogs as they go, Grant following right behind them with Izabel hiked up on his hip.

Skye makes her way towards the front door, grabbing her purse off the small shelf next to her and then slips her feet into the flats just inside the door. She stands there for a moment and watches her husband interact with their children, getting each child strapped into their seats and settled down for the ride.

She knows a wide smile is forming on her face as she watches the scene. This life is definitely way better than she anything she ever could have imagined for herself.

"Mommy! Come on! We're gonna be late!"

She laughs quietly and shakes her head at her daughter's eagerness as she steps outside of the house and closes the door tightly behind her, making her way down the steps and towards the car. "I'm coming, angel, relax. I promise you we won't be late."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Went back and forth a little on the ending and I ended up deciding on the one above.
> 
> Also, working on something interesting and I'd love your guys' help with it. When you leave a review, you just gotta let me know why you love Skyeward. I know why I love them, but I wanna why you love them too. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> That's the end of that chapter. Next one covers little Jessica's first year of life. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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